A Lamb vs. A Serpent

I was driving in my car the other day and on the Christian radio station I was listening to, one of the DJ’s shared this story (I will not put it in quotes because it will not be word-for-word):

A dentist (she did not say where he resides) who is also a sheep farmer, had one of his sheep bit by a rattlesnake.  He was alarmed and was sure the sheep would die, but it did not happen.  As it turns out, sheep’s blood is used as an anti-venom treatment.  The DJ said she had never heard of that and questioned in her mind if it was true or not.  She looked it up online and discovered that it is, in fact, true.  (I will present the information to you later.)  She talked about how ironic since Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God, and we know that in the garden of Eden Satan presented himself as a snake, and now we discover that the blood of a lamb can be used to protect from the bite of a serpent.    

So anyway, that story has now stuck with me for several days – I just cannot seem to shake it.  So I did some research on it and decided that because it has stayed with me, that I needed to share it here on my blog.  So today, not much of my blog is going to be original to me, but I just feel like it is something that someone needs to hear.  I will share some information and scriptures then additional sources to complete the story.

First, if you will read Genesis 3:1-15 you will see how Satan presented himself as a serpent to Eve and the result was she and her husband Adam brought sin into the world.  From the first book of the Bible we then move to the last book in the Bible and read in Revelation 12:9 (AMP):  “And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”  Revelation 20:1-2 (GNT):  “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years.”  

In the Old Testament, it was prophesied multiple times that Jesus was going to suffer and die.  You can read Psalm 22 and find it full of words about that, spoken by David, 1000 years before they were fulfilled.  Facts that were fulfilled by Jesus that you can read about in Matthew 27, Mark 15 and Luke 23.

The book of Isaiah 53 is full of references to Jesus but I want to quote verse 7 (NLV) where he is referred to in the prophecy as a lamb:  “Men made it very hard for Him and caused Him to suffer, yet He did not open His mouth. He was taken like a lamb to be put to death. A sheep does not make a sound while its wool is cut and He did not open His mouth.”    

You can read in John 1 about how John the Baptist taught about Jesus – verse 29 (GNT) says: “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” and again in verses 35-36 (GNT): “The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, when he saw Jesus walking by.  ‘There is the Lamb of God!’ he said.”

Jesus was sacrificed, shedding His blood, so that every sin any of us ever commit is covered and can be forgiven, if we only confess and ask forgiveness.  I love the way it is put in 1 Peter 1:18-21 (ERV):  “You know that in the past the way you were living was useless. It was a way of life you learned from those who lived before you. But you were saved from that way of living. You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver. You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb. Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for you. You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.”

We know that Satan only wants harm to come to us all – he is in the world creating havoc, pain, sadness, etc. every minute of every day.  But with the power of Jesus (our Lamb) within us, we are stronger and more capable than Satan (the serpent) could ever be.  We must learn to pray, read our Bible and stay strong in order to defeat evil – to overcome the poison/venom in the world.  And, at the very end (read Revelation 20:1-2 again), that serpent, Satan, is totally defeated – all of his venom is covered by the blood of the Lamb.

Now, I would encourage you to read the short article about how they are using the blood of the lamb to produce the anti-venom.  The author points out a couple of other things that are very interesting.  Here’s the link:

https://www.cornerstonekilmartin.com/lively-stones-meditations/the-blood-of-the-lamb

(All emphasis above is mine)

Written by Karran Martin – March 12, 2022